Method for Decorating the Sides of Plastic Cards

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for decorating the sides of plastic cards by means of hot foil stamping and the die for coupling to the heating head of a hot foil stamping machine in order to carry out said method. To this end, a plurality of plastic cards is placed in the supporting cradle of the stamping machine in such a way that the first shortest side of said plastic cards faces the die, a hot foil stamping being carried out on the shortest sides of the plastic cards.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is an innovative method fordecorating the sides of plastic cards, by means of hot foil stamping, inaddition to the engraver to be coupled to the heater head piece of thehot foil stamping machine, used to carry out the former method and theplastic cards, the sides of which have been decorated by means of thedecoration process, using the engraver designed to carry out saidmethod.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plastic cards used for a multitude of purposes are well known in thestate of the art, the most well-known including payment by debit orcredit card, credit cards or identification for buildings or variouskinds of events. The frontal and rear faces of these plastic cards areusually decorated with all kinds of motifs, which usually constituteadvertising and on many occasions, contain some or all of theinformation required in order for them to fulfil their objective withinthis decoration, for example the name of the card holder.

One aesthetic requirement of decorated plastic cards is that their sidesare the same colour as their frontal and rear faces or other kinds ofdecoration wished to be incorporated.

In order to ensure that the sides of cards are the desired colour, cardsmade of plastic of the desired colour are used. This solution requiresmanufacturers to maintain stock in each one of the colours offered,therefore meaning the cost of maintaining this stock is very high.Furthermore, since storing cards in all colours is very costly, it ishighly likely that they will lose out on sales opportunities simplybecause they don't have the colour a client desires at any particulartime.

The invention object of the present description offers a decorationtechnique, unpublished to date, for decorating the sides of plasticcards by means of the well-known hot foil stamping decoration method,the characteristics of this method making it possible to lowerproduction and stock maintenance costs, thereby possibly meaning justone colour of card needs to be stocked, which is usually white.

The hot foil stamping method consists of applying a certain amount ofpressure using an engraver, during a certain period of time at a certaintemperature, to a piece of foil located on the surface to be decorated.

The surface where the engraver comes into contact with the foil may becompletely flat or have a relief of the symbol to be decorated engravedonto it. After hot stamping, it is possible to clean the foil traces bymeans of the blowing, brushing or transfer process, in order toeliminate the traces of foil that may be left behind.

Hot foil stamping is carried out, amongst other things, in verticalstamping machines and roll-on stamping machines.

Vertical hot stamping machines constitute vertical presses, the mobilebody of which is an arm, which moves up and down alternately, therebeing a heater head piece at the end of said arm, to which an engraverthat may be heated up is coupled, in addition to a support or wedge,which positions and holds the pieces to be stamped, as well as variousfeeder, transportation and placement devices for the foil and devicesfor controlling pressure, stamping time and the temperature at which theengraver is to be heated.

In roll-on stamping machines, the heater head piece is a cylinder thatrotates on its own axis, to which the engraver that may be heated up iscoupled on the external cylindrical surface thereof, this kind ofmachine being used to carry out large series stamping.

Hot stamping foil is formed by various layers that are deposited on apolyester support. In order, these layers include: polyester, a coatinglayer, a protective layer, a decorative layer or layers orcolour/aluminium layer and an adhesive layer, applied with heat andpressure.

It is applied using heat and pressure on the surface to be decorated,the relief with which the engraver is formed constituting the elementthat comes into physical contact with the foil, which is transferred tothe surface.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The method for decorating the sides of plastic cards object of thepresent invention comprises the following steps:

-   -   a. Placing a plurality, preferably 25 units, of plastic cards on        a first support wedge, in such a way that the first, shortest        side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.    -   b. Hot foil stamping the first shortest sides of the plastic        cards.    -   c. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the first shortest        sides.    -   d. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on a first support        wedge, such that the second shorter side of said plastic cards        is opposite the engraver.    -   e. Hot foil stamping the second shortest sides of the plastic        cards.    -   f. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the second longest        sides.    -   g. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on a second support        wedge, in such a way that the first longest side of said plastic        cards is opposite the engraver.    -   h. Hot foil stamping the first longest sides of the plastic        cards.    -   i. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the first longest        sides.    -   j. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on a second support        wedge, in such a way that the second longest side of said        plastic cards is opposite the engraver.    -   k. Hot stamping the second longest sides of the plastic cards.    -   l. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the second longest        sides, in order to eliminate overpress left behind from the hot        stamping method.

In order to carry out the above described process, a hot foil stampingmachine of the vertical or roll-on variety described above is used, towhich an engraver that may be heated up is coupled on the heater headpiece, said engraver being made from silicone, the external face thereofopposite the foil having a recess, such that the shape of across-section of said engraver is the negative shape and the same sizeas a side of said card, including the rounded corners formed by saidside with the adjacent sides of the card. Said vertical hot foilstamping machine also comprises one or more wedges, suitable forpositioning and holding the plastic cards in such a way that the sidesto be decorated are opposite the lower face of the engraver, it beingpossible for said wedges to be holding devices that facilitate the useof the same wedge to hot stamp all four sides of the cards.

The cross-section of the engraver is preferably the same shape and sizeas the first and second longest side of the plastic cards and in anotherpreferred embodiment, is the same shape and size as the first and secondshortest side of said plastic cards.

The engraver is preferably made of 80° Shore A silicone.

The card stamped with hot foil according to the method described in theparagraphs above, using the hot stamping machine, the sides of which arehot stamped with foil, also forms the object of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1: is a cross-section of the controlled temperature engraver.

FIG. 2: is a perspective view of a detail of a plastic card, showing thesides thereof.

LIST OF REFERENCES

1. Engraver

2. Plastic card

3. Longest side

4. Shortest side

5. Rounding

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the plastic cards complywith ISO 7816 and the measurements thereof are:

-   -   Length: 85.6+1/−0.5 mm    -   Width: 53.98+/−0.2 mm    -   Nominal depth: 0.762 mm        and groups of 25 cards are preferably worked with.

The method uses hot foil stamping machines that are either vertical orroll-on, with the engraver and the wedge described previously; theproduction chain may consist of:

-   -   Four hot stamping machines, each of which is followed by its        corresponding blowing station. In this production chain, each        hot stamping machine stamps one side.    -   Two hot stamping machines followed by their corresponding        blowing stations, each one of the hot stamping machines stamping        two sides.    -   One hot stamping machine followed by a blowing station.

1. Method for decorating the sides of plastic cards of the hot foilstamping variety, characterised in that it comprises the followingsteps: a. Placing a plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge,such that a first side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver.b. Hot foil stamping the first sides of the plastic cards and includinground corners formed by said first sides with the adjacent sides of thecards. c. Blowing air on the stamping applied to the first sides. d.Placing a plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge such that asecond side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver. e. Hot foilstamping the second shortest sides of the plastic cards and includinground corners formed by said second sides with the adjacent sides of thecards f. Blowing air on the stamping applied to the second sides. g.Placing a plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge, such that athird side of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver. h. Hot foilstamping the third sides of the plastic cards and including roundcorners formed by said third sides with the adjacent sides of the cards.i. Blowing air onto the stamping applied to the third sides. j. Placinga plurality of plastic cards on the support wedge, such that a fourthside of said plastic cards is opposite the engraver. k. Hot foilstamping the fourth sides of the plastic cards and including roundcorners formed by said fourth sides with the adjacent sides of thecards. l. Blowing air onto the stamping made on the fourth sides. 2.Method for decorating the sides of plastic cards according to claim 1,wherein the plurality of cards consists of 25 cards. 3-10. (canceled)11. Method for decorating the sides of plastic cards according to claim1, wherein a same wedge is used to hot stamp all four sides of saidplastic cards.
 12. Engraver of the variety coupled to the heater headpieces of hot foil stamping machines, whether vertical or roll-on,according to the method for decorating the sides of plastic cardsaccording to previous claims, wherein the engraver is made of siliconethat may be heated up and has a recess on its external face opposite thefoil, in such a way that a cross-section of said engraver is thenegative shape and same size as one side of said plurality of cards,including the round corners formed by said side with the adjacent sides,wherein the size of the engraver is dependent on the number of cards ofthe said plurality of cards, said engraver may be heated up and issuitable for being coupled to the heater head piece of a hot stampingmachine.
 13. Engraver according to claim 4 wherein the engraver is madefrom 80° Shore A silicone.
 14. Engraver according to claim 12 whereinthe negative of the three-dimensional shapes to be decorated on thesides of the plastic card are suitably arranged on the engraver. 15.Engraver according to claim 12 wherein it is suitable to be coupled tothe heater head piece of a vertical hot foil stamping machine. 16.Engraver according to claim 12 wherein it is suitable to be coupled tothe heater head piece of a roll-on hot foil stamping machine. 17.Plastic card wherein the sides and the round corners formed by saidsides with the adjacent sides of the card are stamped with hot foilaccording to the method described in claim
 1. 18. The plastic card ofclaim 17 formed using the engraver described in claim 12.